Rocksteady Studios, creators of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, has made a series of layoffs in its quality assurance (QA) department following poor sales and negative reviews for the title. According to a report by Eurogamer, sources close to the team have assured them that the QA team has been reduced by more than 50%, going from 33 employees to just 15.
Cuts that, as happens in these cases, will force the remaining employees to take on a greater workload, which could negatively impact the quality of the product, which has the arrival of several Seasons on its post-launch roadmap. Something that comes after the reviews of Suicide Squad since its launch said that “it’s hard not to think about what could have been if Rocksteady had opted for another traditional single-player title”, something that in this case, prevented it from reaching the quality of its previous works, without failing to mention that the game is fun anyway. But this did not prevent Suicide Squad from being considered a loss of $200 million dollars for Rocksteady Studios and its publisher, Warner Bros. since its failed launch in February.
You can read: After losing $200 million with Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. would have to sell part of its video game division to save itself
All of this, the report says, is due to Suicide Squad’s poor sales, which have been directly cited as one of the main reasons for these layoffs. Furthermore, it was stated that among the employees affected by the cuts are numerous junior members of the team, as well as several employees with more than five years of seniority at Rocksteady. A Bloomberg report revealed that the project was destined for failure from the start, due to conflicts between the developer and publisher, as well as a significant shift in the focus of combat, which went from the hand-to-hand combat of the Batman: Arkham series to the gunfights of Kill the Justice League.
While the game is still receiving post-launch support, it’s unclear how long that will last, as it’s suggested that some of the studio’s staff has been reassigned to work on a Director’s Cut of Hogwarts Legacy. Last month, Warner Bros. reported a 41% drop in video game revenue compared to the previous year, due to the “weak performance” of Suicide Squad. Additionally, it’s been teased that work on post-launch content is continuing, though no information has been given on what might come next.
Rumors point to a possible closure of XDefiant by Ubisoft
In the midst of an industry rife with shooters, competition between them is fierce. In fact, amidst this fighting, many have forgotten that there is XDefiant, the Ubisoft shooter released in May. Although the game based on a live service model received acceptable reviews and managed to attract a large number of players at launch, the situation seems to have changed drastically.
According to various rumors, XDefiant has experienced a notable decline in recent months. Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, known for his reliability in matters relating to information leaked from within the industry, reports that the game could be on the verge of cancellation unless player numbers increase significantly during Season 3. The reporter indicates that the player base has been steadily declining since the successful initial launch. This decline has raised concerns within Ubisoft, as fewer players translate into lower revenue, making it difficult to justify continued support for the game.
It is noted that XDefiant, a free-to-play title, is barely reaching 20,000 concurrent players across all platforms, including PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S. Furthermore, sources have informed Henderson that it could be just a matter of time before layoffs occur at Ubisoft San Francisco, the studio responsible for XDefiant. The report also mentions that the studio’s “toxic” work culture, which had already been reported before the game’s launch, remains a persistent problem.
